Hi guys..... I have one comment and question:Let me begin by informing you that I own a 2000 Legacy GT Ltd. I bought the car in November of 1999. During the first 6 months of ownership I discovered about a dozen paint chips on my hood. They were everywhere and looked very ugly. Not knowing this was occurring to many Subaru owners I just took it to my body shop and had the hood repainted. Not one paint chip since then. This tells me it was the quality or application of the original paint and not my highway driving. The only reason I mentioned this was because someone brought it up in an earlier post. My question is: What is the correct torque specifications for the OEM wheels?? I just had 4 new tires mounted and balanced on my car and I know they used an air ratchet to tighten the wheels. This has always been a concern of mine and I wanted to know what the correct torque figures were?? I had my rotors replaced 6 months ago under warranty so I don't want anything to contribute to this problem again. Also, what's the best way to remove a door ding? I just got one from an SUV and almost pulled the guy out through his window. I exchanged words but he drove off after claiming he couldn't see anything. After washing my car, it was evident. Please help.

This may not totally help you but I have a Haynes manual for 1990-1998 Legacies and on Chapter 1 it states wheel lug nuts torque should be 72 Ft-lbs.You have a 2000 GT so it may be slightly different so you may want to buy one that applies to your year/model or check your local library since they have automotive repair manuals there. Good luck.

Hi Mark I have a 87 GL wagon with 247000 miles on it and I had the same kind of sound but only when I was making a turn. I found out it was a worn out axle shaft that needed to be replaced. The end of the axle has spines that match up in rotor/wheel and these were worn. It was a fairly easy job to do. I got some used parts from a local pull and save yard and did it myself. I figured since I bought the car for $100 I am not going to put that much $ into it. It has been a very good car though even with the high mileage but I have been having a problem with it overhearing. I have heard that these yr of cars are notorious for the heads to crack and I suspect this is what has happened to mine. I still use it to commute to work in the summertime. I work for the Forest Service in a and drive 90 miles a day on mountainous road to my station. I have to carry extra H2o to refill when it does get hot but its still good to go.

I just bought a '95 Legacy L AWD sedan w/75K miles about three weeks ago. Now that I've gotten over how much better it is than the '90 Escort wagon it replaced, I have a couple of questions I hope more experienced owners might be able to help with. first, I am getting only about 20MPG after first 3 fillups in about 1/3 highway, 2/3 city/stop and go. The original EPA estimates were about 24city/28highway. Is this usual or are there things to do. Second, during highway driving I see that for the 1st 5 minutes or so, I see about 3200RPM @ 70MPH, which then drops to 2800 thereafter. Is this what the final drive should be? I couldn't find anything in the owners manual and haven't had a chance to get ahold of fancier manual. Which is better, Chiltons or Haynes? Thanks for any response and I'm glad to be back to Subaru after about 10 years.

Not sure about the rpm, but it sounds like it's not going into overdrive soon enough, so I'd at least have the ATF drained and refilled.

It should have a new timing belt, too. Given it's age, whatever you don't have records for I'd do, so that you get a baseline for future service. That would include the basic 60k service, or items like:

Hello ~ I am new to the forum, but i need some help in choosing a Legacy Wagon 1998 or 1999 are their certain models to avoid? are their common problems i need to keep my eyes open for ? I think I want an Outback (Wagon)but I do like the Wagons that have the power Antannas what Model are those and I dunno I just need any Helpful advice in choosing a good Legacy thanks everyone . Paul

This is an inactive topic, so you're better off going to the Owners Clubs, then Subaru Crew.

98 and 99 had the Outback, Legacy 2.5 GT, GT Limited, and Outback Limited (from cheapest to most expensive).

Both are good years. All have the same Phase I 2.5l DOHC engine, with 165hp and 162 lb-ft of torque. You can get 5 speeds or autos on each, but the early Limiteds were auto only.

Resale value is very high, so beware. You may want to consider a new one - they are not much more expensive.

IMHO, problems will stand out like a sore thumb. When you test drive, turn off the radio and listen carefully. The engine should idle smoothly, the tranny should shift with precision, and there should be no gear whine, brake squeeking, or shakes/rattles that stand out.

The good news is that the powertrain warranty goes for 60 months/60k miles, so most of these will still be under warranty.

I owned a 1990 Legacy brand new for 10 years until I traded it in in 1999. It had aboutt 168,000 miles on it. I had never had any major work done to it other than the usual. Never had to have freon added; never had the a/c worked on. And it cooled colder than my freezer at home. That was the best car I ever owned. But when you start having kids you need more room - so on came the SUV! And then the problems began! See my take on the Jeep Grand Cherokee in the Jeep section. If I could find a good one now, I would buy it and put it up for my son. But I would only buy a '90 or '91.

Could someone be able to tell me where I can find repair manual for a 2000 Legacy. Haynes and Chilton only go up to 99. I just hit 30k and don't want to pay the dealer all kinds of money for stuff that I can do myself. I bought my car brand new and was wondering if anyone else has experienced not-so-smooth transmission shifts with the automatic. It seems to engage every gear kind of jerky almost like a manual. I've driven in my friends Focus and you can barely tell the car is shifting. I especially notice my car jerk when I let off the gas and then apply throttle again. Please advise. Do I need to change the tranny fluid, check fuel injection?? Any info would be appreciated.

Shop manuals are hard to find. Subaru has 6 or 7 titles, so it's a pain.

You may want to consider a swap of your ATF, maybe even to synthetic.

Selina: the new Legacys are pretty reliable. Why not look at a Legacy GT wagon? Consumer Reports ranks Subaru #7 among manufacturers (in terms of reliability) while Jeep is dead last, so surely you'll see an improvement.

NYLEGACY:If you have noticed a difference in shifting since you bought it, I would have it checked. However, if it has been the same since day 1, just chalk it up to Subaru AT's that are not the slickest in the industry (some might say they're awful). I can barely feel my '98 Maliboo shift while my '98 Legacy feels exactly as you described - quite jerky..

I have a 1990 Subaru Legacy LS Station Wagon with 146,000 plus miles on her. My children and I recently took a driving trip around 300 miles, plus city driving for a week. Everything was fine. However on the way back it was very hot, my air conditioning wasn't very effective. I turned it up to max/ac and was driving about 80 mph. My engine kicked two times and I noticed the temperature gauge indicated my car was overheating. I pulled over and waited for it to cool off. The radiator fluid was splashed all over the engine. Luckily I was at an exit and I coasted over to a mechanic (thank God). He told me it was a busted radiator hose. After he replaced the hose, my car still was overheating. I was also told that there could be an airlock in the hose and that the antifreeze should be added through the top radiator hose not the bottom one. Also it was said that it could be that a gasket (don't know the proper name)cover blew off and I may have to have it replaced. Does anyone know how much that would cost? Could there by any other reason for this overheating. Are Subaru cars known for this cooling problem? Another mechanic said that these cars don't do well in the summer months. I took it to two other mechanices, but neither wanted to attempt to handle my cooling system because it was too tricky. They instructed me to take to the nearest Subaru dealership. They said the coolant runs backwards instead of the normal way. Could someone please explain this. I've only had this car for five months and have had my timing belt, water pump and the front and back cv boot replaced. I also had my radiator flushed because when I bought it the owner put water in the radiator instead of coolant and when the first real cold weather came my car's engine completely frozeand my power windows stopped functioning. I don't have those problems anymore, I am just wondering about how much would I have to overhaul the airconditioning system. I'd rather get it done now then to nickel and dime it later. I believe it is a pretty good car, but I won't take it on such a long trip the next time.

As for overheating, it sounds like your engine has already had its share of stresses upon it. Overheating can be tricky and a complex issue to resolve. You should first of all have the cooling system pressure-tested to see if you have head gasket damage either from the overheat or the freeze.

Last of all, these are sort of typical old car/high miles problems. You may want to consider bailing out of this car, it sounds like it's had a hard life.

Thanks for your help Mr_ Shiftright. Do you know how much would it cost to replace a head gasket? My vehicle had to be left at the Subaru dealer about 150 miles from my house. Would you recommend me driving it back to my home, if there is an indication of engine trouble? What testing method is used to determine if there is engine trouble that is producing the overheating?

As long as the car is not running in the overheat range, and as long as you don't see any milky sludge on the dipstick when you check it, you are probably okay. If the cooling system is pressure tested, this could detect a head gasket leak, as could perhaps a compression test or cylinder leakdown test.

Perhaps your overheating is not due to such a drastic malady. A clogged or rusted radiator, a bad thermostat or cooling fan, those are also possbilities.

Usually head gasket leaks or a bad thermostat cause a pretty fast overheat, whereas clogging makes for a more gradual overheat and usually only at higher speeds.. Air-bound cooling systems overheat pretty quickly, too, as there is no water circulation, similar to a bad thermostat.

In our '92 Legacy L, we replaced the orginal radiator at around 160,000 miles. The car overheated on extended driving and highway driving. The temperature guage would rise slowly to just 3/4 - just into the hot range. Check and see if this is an orginal radiator, or one which was replaced a while ago; it may have gone bad. Radiator failure is a common problem over 100,000 miles.

OK, the mechanic said that I blew a fuse which is connected to my engine fan. He said that the engine fan appears a bit wobbly (?). Is this something that needs to be replaced now or should I wait? I still have to drive it home 150 miles. He said there were no other problems with the thermostat and that the radiator was the original radiator.

Well, you do need to find out why the fuse blew in your engine fan so it doesn't happen again. I don't know what he means by "wobbly", that doesn't sound very precise. Does he mean the fan shaft bearing is worn? How badly? Bad enough to drag and cause the fuse to blow?

Anyway, at the very minimum fix the fan so it works properly, and have him show you where it is and what it looks and sounds like when it's working, so that you can check it yourself if your temp gauge starts to go up again.

I would just like to add that my 91 Legacy was having overheating issues 2 summers ago. It started on a 250 mile trip, and it over heated. I let the engine cool off and added more coolant, there was an air pocket that was keeping the coolant from going into the engine after it heated up. Two months later I took it on a 3,000 mile trip and I had some overheating issues after driving 12 hours a day at 75. I was also spraying coolant all over the engine. I replaced the radiator cap, that's it. I have not had a problem since then.

Well, you probably had no pressure in the system as well as a bad seal in the radiator...so your coolant boiled at 212 rather than 230-240 as it would unde pressure, and with the bad cap also also having a bad seal, the coolant escaped...therefore causing more overheating, etc.

I don't think a true air block was your problem because you have to bleed that out carefully according to a certain procedure. It's not the kind of thing that fixes itself as far as I can recall.

Can any Legacy owners (1992-1994) help me out on this ? I wanted to upgrade the stock steel rims on my Sube (14") to an aftermarket alloy rims but have read on some Sube accesory sites that it has a high offset (backspacing ?) and if you don't get the right one ( +45 - +50 mm )on a 15" or 16" rims, it may rub the fenders ? But they talk mostly of the late models impreza and legacy models. I searched tirerack, victoria tires, etc on the net and while they offer numerous brands applications for this models, none have been in the offset range I mentioned so I'm hesitant to purchase. I'll feel more sure if anybody out there have had success with any aftermarket rims ( 1992-94 Legacies ) without the rubbing problems. The ones they recommend are way too expensive ( Speedline, Raceline..) ! Thanks .

My 95 legacy has 187,000 kms.or about 116,000 miles on it. To date it has had 2 timing belts, 2 front brake jobs, both rear wheel bearings replaced one under warranty, a water pump and a clutch. It is on its 2nd set of tires.The cruise control motor has packed it in and other than that it runs like a watch. The body is still tight, and I would recommend these cars to most people as a good reliable vehicle. If you want all wheel drive, for the money you can't beat a Suburu!

They were a little less conservative than Tire Rack, and let me go with 225mm tires. Tire Rack said they would rub, but they wrong just plain wrong.

Offsets are indeed unusual, but call and work with one of their techs. I even managed to find one that fit on special, so 16"x7" rims for my Forester cost just $75 a pop. That was cheaper than steel rims from Subaru!

Thanks for the response. I had looked on that site too and found similar brand applications to my legacy 92 like tirerack with some deviations. Will call up techs for advice. If you don't mind, what aftermarket wheel brand/model worked well with with your forrester ? Unfortunately, yours is AWD, my 1992 Sube (L) is FWD, one of the distant cousin of the AWD models and already disinherited and abandoned. Not that I'm complaining, this baby was bought used but still going strong and near 100K miles. That's why I wanted to dress her up and improve handling/road grip for my daily commute. Anyway, I'm still hoping for any previous/present legacy 92-94 owners to read this and give me advice if they'd switched to aftermarket rims before. Keep it coming !